MHA | Sensitization Workshop for Nodal Officers dealing with Disaster Management

PIB News Update:On the directions of Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) organized a two-day workshop on sensitization of Nodal Officers for disaster management in Central Ministries/Departments, in New Delhi. Around 120 senior level officers attended the workshop. This included representatives of Ministries/Departments of the Central Government, disaster management specialists, technical institutions and premium training institutes including NDMA, National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF).

The objectives of this workshop was to sensitize the Nodal Officers on disaster management framework for disaster risk reduction; coherence between Sendai Framework, Sustainable Development Goals and Paris agreement; Global Perspective on Disaster Risk Reduction and preparation of disaster management plans of Ministry/Departments. These plans shall include measures for mitigation, preparedness capacity building and response for effective management of Disasters.

This is an important step towards supporting the initiative for promoting resilient infrastructure systems, which is taken forward as a lead step by India, in form of Collision for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI), recently launched by the Prime Minister during the Climate Action Summit at New York. Integrating disaster resilience into all facets of development is also a critical attribute towards the vision of ‘ease of living’ for all, and a 5 trillion economy by 2024.

In the post 2015 developmental agenda, India has undertaken a series of initiatives and is emerging as a global leader in the field of disaster management. Development and disasters need to go hand in hand and the prime concern be to build disaster resilience for all physical, social, economical and environmental infrastructures, without waiting for a disaster to strike. All Nodal Officers of Ministries/Departments present in the workshop were encouraged to prepare and periodically update their Disaster Management Plan in line with the National Disaster Management Plan (NDMP) and also to inculcate suitable measures for effective implementing the DM Plan on ground.

With Government’s sustained efforts, significant improvement in the preparedness and response structure of the country to natural calamities has happened. Effective handling of all these disasters is a direct outcome of well coordinated efforts, policy initiatives, enhancement of early warning capabilities, advance preparation, training, capacity development and synergy between and amongst the Central Government Ministries/Departments with their counterparts in State Governments. There is a need to keep up these efforts on a continuous basis for further improvement of disaster risk reduction mechanism in our country. There is also a need of research and development programmes in collaboration with various academic and professional bodies.

Presentations and discussions by the Members and professionals of NDMA, NIDM and practitioners on different dimensions of disaster risk and resilience, tools and strategies, were aimed at enabling the Nodal Officers from various Ministries and Departments to understand the process of developing and implementing their Disaster Management Plans. Issues of climate change adaptation, ecosystem based resilience, housing and structural safety, man-made disasters, governance and financial instruments, participatory approach and integration of disaster management into plans and schemes of the government were discussed.